It is time for all employers to view diversity holistically rather than in single strands such as race or gender, according to the founder of a new employer body Inclusive Employers (IE).

Founder and IE director Rachel Krys, who was formerly the campaigns director of the Employers’ Forum on Age, told PM that many employers had already adopted this fresh approach and she had set up the new organisation in response to their calls for support and advice.

Krys said: “Employers are not just thinking about diversity in a narrow siloed way, they are thinking in terms of every characteristic that an individual person has and how they can attract the best talent and engage them. They’re thinking about how they will become an employer of choice in a very competitive talent market.”

She explained that the move towards this way of thing among employers was “an inevitable response” to legislative changes, especially the 2010 Equality Act which united the diversity strands, and the amalgamation of different equality commissions into the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2007.

“We want to build a network of employers who are really thinking about how to do things differently. Some employers have been thinking this way for a while, so Inclusive Employers will give them a forum to talk to each other and share experiences about what is working for them globally and locally in the UK.

“But we are also creating a place where small and medium organisations can get access to this thinking. It will provide smaller employers with a place where they can think about how they can simply introduce some of this good practise and get some of the benefits without it costing them a fortune. So it’s an organisation that will meet those very different needs.”

The body will officially launch on May 24 and its full website will go live at the end of April.

For more information visit www.inclusiveemployers.co.uk.